Meaning
by Luveniar FurElise
Summary: Post No Reason. House thinks about life, and Cameron gets an opportunity. Complete, read the sequel called Secrets. Thanks for reading!
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Well I have been reading and reviewing for about a month now, and this is my first shot, so please be gentle with me. This is actually an intro to a longer story, but the rest of it is not going anywhere at the moment, so here is what I have to share.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned House, well, I'd be drooling over Hugh Laurie in person instead of at my computer.

**GHMDGHMDGHMD**

_He stared at her outstretched hand, its perfect shape emanating love and electricity, warmth. He couldn't bring himself to touch her, afraid that once he did, he wouldn't be able to let go. She had the face of an angel and all he could do was stare from under his brow, willing her with his mind to 'just go, hurry, before I'm forced to feel.'_

_Am I hallucinating again? No, that _was_ real, that was over a year ago…_

She stood, leaning against the doorway to his room in the ICU, a classic beauty in black slacks and a nondescript sweater. Her hair was mussed, as if she'd just awoken herself.

"You're clenching," he said. "I hate it when you do that."

She smiled slowly. "I guess that means you're okay. Same old House." She walked to the bed, automatically checking his vitals and readouts from the machines attached to him. "I told Cuddy to give you Ketamine like you asked, but it'll be a few days before we can be sure that it worked." She pulled up the guest chair from the corner and sat as close as she could to the bed.

"What happened to…" _Moriarty? No…_"…the guy…who shot me?"

She sighed. "He left the room after he shot you, got into the elevator without being seen. But Foreman called security as soon as he was out of our sight. They shot him, he's dead."

"I dreamed that he…I…"

"It doesn't matter now. You can tell me about it later. Right now you still need to rest. I'll see if I can smuggle up a sandwich for you from the cafeteria." As she spoke, she dared to touch him lightly on the wrist. He looked down at her hand, its perfect shape full of warmth, as it had been so long ago.

"Cameron?" He said, almost in a whisper. "Thank you."

"Just rest. I'll be back." She said, turning away and walking out the door before he could see her tear up.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N:** Sooner than I thought! Here's the first chapter. I know basically where I'm going with this, it's just getting there that's the problem. Please review!

**Disclaimer:** I own season one on DVD, does that count?

GHMDGHMDGHMD

"How is he?" asked Cuddy.

"He's doing well. He…felt the need to thank me, for saving his life I suppose. Does he really think so little of himself that he wouldn't think we'd do everything possible to save him?" Cameron looked up at her Dean of Medicine, her brow furrowed with worry.

Cuddy sat down next to her on the couch in her office and took her hand. "House and I…have known each other for a very long time. From the day I met him, I knew he was someone who could not easily share his feelings. He's had tough luck in life, and all he really wants to be able to do is to trust people, most of all himself."

Cameron nodded and brushed her hair back from her face. "I still feel out of place, talking to you…about him. But…"

"I know you care about him," Cuddy interrupted. "Please know that you can come and talk to me anytime, about anything, and I mean that as a doctor and as a friend. You, Chase and Foreman have become part of my family, and I'd do anything for any one of you. Now go home, take a long bath, and relax for a while. You don't need to spend another night here. I'll take care of House."

GHMDGHMDGHMD

House had been in a coma after the surgery and the Ketamine for eight days. Cameron had spent each of those nights on the couch in Wilson's office, much to his objection. The only reason why Wilson hadn't stayed at the hospital as well was because although his best friend was recovering, he was in the midst of clearing out the rest of his things from the house he'd shared with Julie. He wanted to get that over with as quickly as possible and knew that House would understand.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

The day after House woke up proved to be a beautiful one, although colder than usual for it being nearly summer. Chase and Foreman were already in the office, finding things to do so that they wouldn't go crazy waiting for the okay from Cuddy to see House. She had asked them to let him rest the previous day, knowing that he needed it.

Chase was fiddling with the coffee maker and Foreman was going through House's mail, glad that he wasn't the one stuck doing it every day, when Cuddy finally breezed through the door.

"He's asking for you two, won't take no for an answer, and wondering why you actually listened to me when I asked you to let him rest for another day. Go on up and see him, I'll handle things here."

As soon as they stepped into the elevator and the door closed, Cameron exited the other elevator and went to put her things away, finding Cuddy tidying up the conference room.

"Sorry I'm late, I forgot to set my alarm clock for the first time in years," she said hurriedly.

Cuddy turned. "Don't worry about it, I think I can sneak it past your boss," she said with a smile. "I wanted to talk to you before you went to see House anyway. Chase and Foreman are already on their way up, and I'm sure House will want to call a meeting and get started on a new case, IV drip or not.

"While House is recovering, I want to put you in charge. I know it's a lot right now, but since you're already screening his mail I think it makes the most sense. My main reason for doing this, though, is that…I know you can do it. I want to see you in a leadership role because when the time comes…" she paused. "Doctor Horne is looking to retire in the next few years, and I want to prepare you…for taking his place." Dr. Horne was the current head of Immunology at PPTH, a man known for his kindness and also his no-frills attitude. Cameron had worked with him, of course, when there was a lull in Diagnostics, and had great respect for him.

Cameron's eyes widened. "I – I don't know what to say! I mean, I know it'll be at least two years in the future, but…are you sure you want me to start preparing now? I don't know if I'm ready to take charge. When Foreman was in charge, he had a lot to deal with. I just don't know if I can…"

"It's just for a few weeks, while House recovers," Cuddy reassured. "Of course, you can consult with him, but I do not want him out of that bed _at all_ for at least two more weeks. And after that, he still needs to take it easy. You and I will work together to get him well. I'll be here for whatever you need. But yes, eventually, I'd like to see you as my head of Immunology. You're a good doctor, Allison, and I don't want to share." Cuddy grinned. "Just think about Immunology, it's not something you need to decide on right away at all. File it in the back of your mind. And as of right now, you are in charge of the boys. Good luck."

Cameron's mind was reeling. She was still young, she wasn't ready…but damned if she'd let Cuddy down. The two women made their way to the ICU.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

House had been asleep when Chase and Foreman entered the room. He awoke from a long dream, another dream of _her….._

"It's about time you two showed up," he stated impatiently. "Where's my breakfast?"

Chase stepped forward, glancing at his watch. "Nice try, House, but I happen to know that breakfast is brought into the ICU between eight and nine, so if you didn't eat already, then you're out of luck."

As he spoke, Cuddy came in, followed by a slightly worried looking Cameron.

"Good morning again," started Cuddy. "House, as I already discussed with you, I am putting Cameron in charge for the next couple of weeks while you recover." Foreman and Chase raised their eyebrows at this as she continued. "I want you to stay in that bed. Think of it as an excuse to get out of clinic duty."

House pondered this for a second. "Okay," he said. "But can someone bring me my Gameboy? I'm going through withdrawls here."

With that, Cuddy and the boys left the room. Cameron lingered a moment, wondering what to say. House seemed subdued now, as if he'd gone through some profound personality change while in the coma. He was still the same misanthrope he had always been, just…on a lesser scale. Or maybe it was just that she now saw him in a vulnerable position, his guard let down, not necessarily a conscious choice on his part, but a natural reaction of the human psyche.

He began the conversation for her, "I've known for a while about Cuddy's plans for you." She nodded slowly. "I…" It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that it had, in fact, been his idea, but he didn't want to reveal that just yet. "I still expect the three of you to be here for differential diagnosis when a case comes up. And by here I mean in this room. Bring the white board."

"Of course," she replied.

"And one more thing," he started, suddenly feeling a need to encourage her, in his own way of course. "Whatever you thought you knew about yourself, forget it. You didn't get through medical school, you didn't get where you are today, because of a pretty face. That's just a bonus. You can do this." Her eyes became hopeful at this revelation. She hoped he wasn't just messing with her mind again. "Before you get started, I'd like to remind you that you forgot my sandwich yesterday." He snarked. He lay back in the bed and stared at her expectantly.

"Right," She nodded with a smirk. "I'll be back later.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

She was running, running, away from him, her hair flying. "Is this what I've done to her?" He asked himself. "Why do I keep dreaming about her?" He turned up his collar, the wind chilling his bones.

"_You know why," Moriarty said. He appeared beside House as if he'd always been there. Then again, maybe he had. "You've changed. But now you need to convince her of that. Whether or not anything will come of it, you need to tell her what she means to you. If she listens to what you have to say and slaps you across the face, it doesn't matter. She needs to know. That's all she ever wanted from you." _

_He looked up again, saw this dream-Cameron turn her head to look at him, her cheeks lined with tears, but ever beautiful in the same bright blue shirt she had worn in his first dream. And she wore a smile; through the tears, she always smiled._


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N**: So I figured that the easiest way to give Cameron a backstory was to use myself, so any backstory stuff on her is from my own life. I think I'm probably a lot like her. The only difference so far: I know what monster trucks are, in fact I've seen Gravedigger, once upon a time. Much thanks to my first reviewers: **househomie**, **Kiana3**, **Mayuko-Chan**, **gatermage**, **ninays**, and **Daisyz**. I'm glad I could get this next chapter up for you guys before I head to bed tonight.I see lots of hits and these kind few have reviewed. Please click and review. Thanks again!

**Disclaimer**: I, like many others who have gone before me, do not own House.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

After finishing up where Foreman had left off going through the department's mail and taking on a case of a teenaged girl with migraines and hallucinations that her other doctors hadn't been able to completely put together, Cameron sat back in House's chair. She looked around his desk with a sudden burst of curiosity and leaned over to fan through his record collection, finding lots of jazz and classic rock. She stopped when she found Chicago. She remembered sitting with her dad in his old Jag, listening to tapes of Chicago and smiled. _You and I are not so different, House._ She put on _Chicago XI_ and closed her eyes to relax for a while.

"I see you've taken on the Head of Diagnostics role quickly." Wilson said from the doorway.

Cameron sat up and turned down the volume. "Come in. I was just…" she took a deep breath. "I was just trying to get myself together." As Wilson sat down across from her, she laid her head down on the desk and began to sob quietly. "I'm so tired, Wilson. I'm trying to wrap my head around everything that's happened, and I'm just…so tired."

Wilson took her hand in both of his. "Look, whatever you need, you know I'll be here for you. House is my best friend. I've come to consider you a good friend. I know you care about him as much as I do, so let's work together here. Do _you _need anything, right now?"

"Well," she said with a smile, "I need to bring House some lunch. I'd told him I would do that yesterday and it slipped my mind." They got up together and headed for the cafeteria.

"Reuben, no pickles." Wilson said plainly. "Just remember that and you've got House's lunch menu planned out for life."

GHMDGHMDGHMD

"I don't understand why Cuddy put her in charge," Chase whined. "You did fine a few months ago, why not just stick with that?"

Foreman and Chase were waiting in the lobby to meet the new patient when she arrived.

"Look, Cameron needs this opportunity to see that she's a stronger person than she thinks she is. You've seen the change in her over the past year. She's a good doctor. Everyone can see that, except for her." Foreman said. "Besides, I overheard Cuddy talking to Horne a couple of weeks ago. They want Cameron to take over for him when he retires."

Chase's eyes widened. "Really? Well, I guess she needs the leadership experience then. Here's our patient, I think."

A girl of about seventeen and her mother came through the front door and spotted the two doctors. "You must be Doctors Foreman and Chase," the mother said, shaking their hands. "I'm Grace Borden, and this is my daughter Sara. Doctor Cameron said you'd be here to meet us."

"Of course, Mrs. Borden," said Foreman. "We'll show you the way to Diagnostics," directing them to the elevator.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

_This time they stood together at the edge of the ocean, both staring at the cold waves and not at each other. "Why is the sun setting here?" he asked. "Because we're not in New Jersey," she replied. "This is the Pacific. This is my ocean. I dreamed here, came alive here. It's not about you, House."_

"Knock knock," House woke with a start to see Cameron and Wilson in the doorway, Cameron bearing the sandwich she'd promised the day before and Wilson looking like he'd rather be somewhere else.

House gave a small smile. "I see Wilson gave you my lunch order. And my Gameboy?"

She produced it from her lab coat pocket. "How could I forget something so important? We have a case. Chase and Foreman are waiting for the patient and her mother in the lobby. Migraines, hallucinations, and she just had a seizure a few days ago."

House pondered this for a minute. "Sounds boring, but you're in charge, so have at it. Run whatever tests you think are necessary and let me know if you have any problems. Obviously, you know where I'll be. Wilson, can I talk to you for a minute?"

As Cameron headed back to their office, Wilson sat down in the guest chair.

"I want you too look out for her," House started. "I'd do it myself, but…" he shrugged. "Look where I'm at."

Wilson nodded. "I already told her I'd be available. Does this mean that you…"

"Look, I need some time to think. I've had some weird dreams since I…since the shooting." House frowned. "Just be there for her. And…bring me her personnel file. I want to look at something."

"No problem. Are you sure you don't need to tell me anything?"

"Not yet. Bring me that file."

GHMDGHMDGHMD

_She sat on a dock at the edge of a lake. It was sunset again, this time behind mountains. "I came here a lot as a kid, with my family," she said. They still didn't look at each other. "After my mom left, I came here by myself. Everybody lies, House. But that's not the end of the story. Sometimes, that's the beginning."_

GHMDGHMDGHMD


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N**: Once again, I've used pieces of myself as Cameron's backstory. I collect elephants, and the jade piece is my favorite. I picked it up at Pike Place Market in Seattle once upon a time. The lake is mine too, one of my favorite places in all the world. From watching season one, I guessed Foreman to be about 32, Chase about 26, and Cameron somewhere in between, so that's my birthday logic. Alice In Wonderland Syndrome is real; hooray Wikipedia! I apologize for any medical irregularities, I'm just a lowly database administrator. I'm on a roll, and I'd like to thank Stephen King, who said once that sometimes the story writes itself. Thanks much again to those who've reviewed. Please review, it makes me smile!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own House…but I'm beginning to wonder if maybehe owns me…..

GHMDGHMDGHMD

Cameron flew out the door at a quarter to nine. _I'm never late. How could this happen? _She thought, and laughed to herself as she started the car. _Maybe thirty is the end. _Her birthday was in three days, the big three-oh. She doubted anyone would remember, given everything that was going on. She'd get calls from her parents and her little brother, but that was about it.

When she arrived at the hospital, Chase was there with coffee already made. "Not too bad," she observed, taking a sip before removing her jacket. "How's our patient this morning, and where's Foreman?"

"Sara's doing well considering she just had another seizure about an hour ago. Foreman told me last night that he had an errand to run this morning and he'd be in late. Said he'd be here around ten-thirty."

Cameron placed her hands on her hips and looked around. "Okay," she started. "Let's do an EEG for epilepsy, and go from there. A positive diagnosis for epilepsy still doesn't explain the hallucinations; get more information on what she's seeing." Chase nodded and headed down the hall to see their patient.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

_They sat at the lake again. "So you spent a lot of birthdays here then? With your family?" He asked. "Yeah," she replied, "My little brother's birthday is tomorrow, and mine's in three days. So he was an early third birthday gift. It's funny how life works sometimes." He thought long on that statement, and finally glanced at her to catch her profile against the sunset. Then he glanced down at her hands. She always kept her nails neat and short, but here she had bright blue nail polish on. He smiled. "You should do that more often," he commented. "What?" she asked. "Be yourself," he said._

GHMDGHMDGHMD

House had fallen asleep the previous night with Cameron's file in his hand. When he awoke after that dream, he'd paged Foreman.

"This better be good, House. It's two in the morning." Foreman complained.

"It is," House said forcefully. "I need you to run an errand in the morning for me. Did you know that Cameron's birthday is coming up in a few days?"

Foreman perked up. "Yeah, I knew that. It's her turn for the big thirty, which calls for black decorations and many pranks. Chase and I have been…consulting with Cuddy and Wilson to come up with something good."

"And you haven't let me in on it?" House exclaimed. "I'm ashamed at you."

"House, you've been in a coma!"

"Yeah, yeah, pesky bullet wounds and all that. So listen, there's this little jewelry store on Magnolia Street…"

GHMDGHMDGHMD

When Foreman came into the conference room, everyone else had already been about their day for a couple of hours. He'd gotten lost twice looking for Jules' Jewels, stupid name, and finally made it into work just past eleven. He headed straight for House's room in the ICU.

"Well you're right," he said to House, who was now reviewing his own file. "The name is not an indicator of the merchandise. I found a good piece." He handed House the small box, wrapped in shiny blue paper as requested.

"Good," House replied. "But what do you think I am, Mary Poppins' carpet-bag? I don't have anywhere to hide that! There's a black box on the bookshelf behind my desk. Put it there until the morning of, I'll give it to her _after_ you've pranked her."

"Sure," Foreman said, and headed back out.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

"I can't explain it," said Sara. "My cat just…looks smaller than he used to - but not all the time. Or my hand will look smaller, or anything at all. But it comes and goes."

"Okay," Chase said, making notes on her chart. "We're going to keep you on the EEG for the rest of the day to confirm the epilepsy, but I want to do some more research on these hallucinations. In the meantime, we'll have to test for any type of psychoactive drugs, just to be sure."

"I can tell you that my daughter doesn't do drugs, Doctor Chase," said Grace. After a moment she added, "but I understand that the tests are necessary, just to be absolutely sure."

Chase nodded and headed to the lab.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

That evening, after they had confirmed the epilepsy and started Sara on medication, Chase, Foreman and Cameron sat around the conference table.

"Shouldn't we see what House thinks about this one?" asked Foreman.

"No," Cameron replied. "I want to see if we can do this on our own. He knows what's going on; if he has a suggestion I assume he would have given it to us by now. I don't think he's changed that completely."

"I guess you're right," Foreman said as he stood up. "Well, I've got some things to do before tomorrow morning, so I'm going to head out. Chase, you coming?"

"Yeah," said Chase, practically jumping out of his chair. "Let's get going." Never good at lying or keeping a secret, Chase hurried out the door, followed closely by Foreman.

"See you guys in the morning," Cameron sighed. I wonder what that was all about?

She set her glasses down on the conference table and wandered back to House's desk. Scanning the records again, she settled on Duke Ellington, this time plugging the headphones into the record player and, feeling girlish, lay down on the floor with her feet up on House's chair, just like he liked to do sometimes.

"Again with the taking over," Wilson laughed, as Cameron removed the headphones. "I guess you're doing well then."

"Music relaxes me," she implied. "I'm starting to see why House has such a collection here at work." She sat up and turned off the player.

Wilson sat down and looked at her sheepishly. "I know it's a couple of days early, but…" he produced a small package from his coat pocket. "I wanted to give this to you before any mayhem should ensue regarding your birthday."

Cameron blushed and took the package, turning it over in her hands. "Thanks, Wilson, you didn't have to get me anything."

"Nonsense," he replied. "You're a friend. I heard once that friends get each other gifts for things like birthdays. Open it, please."

"Okay," she said, beginning to grin like a schoolgirl. She carefully tore the shiny blue paper, revealing a small black box. Inside the box was an elephant carved from jade, with a smaller elephant carved inside its body. "This is beautiful! The time it must have taken to carve this. Thank you!"

Wilson smiled, pleased that he had remembered something about her that she'd only mentioned once. "I remembered that one day a few months ago you had mentioned to me that you collected elephants. I saw this when I was in Ocean City last weekend and I knew it was perfect." Cameron got up to hug him. "I'm glad you like it. Happy Birthday."

"I love it. Now," she said with a frown, "What's this you said about mayhem?"

"Oh, nothing. I mean, it's a milestone birthday, so I wouldn't put it past someone to pull a prank. House did it to me. Relax, Cameron, if anything were to happen, I'd know about it, and make sure it wasn't too awful for you. It's almost eight, why don't you go home and get some rest."

"I will," she said, gathering her things. "I just want to stop by and see House before I head out. I'll see you tomorrow."

Wilson hurried out, trying to hide a grin.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

"It's Alice In Wonderland Syndrome," House said plainly as Cameron entered the room.

"What?" she asked.

"Alice In Wonderland Syndrome," he repeated. "Objects appearing smaller than in reality, like the side mirror on any new vehicle."

"Micropsia," she realized. "I've heard of it before, but I'd forgotten it could be caused by epilepsy."

"Well ask Foreman about it, he's the neurologist. I'm surprised he hasn't suggested it by now," House said.

"Well we've all been busy with who knows what else the past few days, and he was late coming in this morning. I've been catching up on your mail myself, and reading up on some of Doctor Horne's articles. If he and Cuddy really want me to take over in a few years, I'd like to know a little bit more about him."

House nodded. "Good idea. Well, let the patient sleep tonight and diagnose her in the morning." She turned to leave when he asked, "Cameron? This is going to sound…well, stupid, but…what's your favorite color?"

Cameron blinked. "Blue. Just…blue."

"Huh," House pondered. "Who would have thought?"

"Goodnight, House."

"Goodnight."

GHMDGHMDGHMD

_"You're almost there," Moriarty whispered. They were standing at the top of the dock, watching Cameron sit at the far end, her feet dangling in the cool water. "Where?" House asked. "Getting to her heart. For real. Once you do that, you won't need me anymore. Sounds good, right?" House nodded. "Yeah. Now can you give me some peace? I need to go talk to her." House started down the ramp to where Cameron sat in the sunset._

GHMDGHMDGHMD


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: **So here is chapter four. Hundreds of hits I see, and a few reviews. Much thanks and cookies to everyone who has reviewed so far, I really appreciate it! I hope to see more :D Sadly, I'm almost done, there's just an epilogue left to this story, but I definitely plan to write more fic, I've had lots of fun!

**Disclaimer: **sniff>I...do not own House! How can I go on:D

GHMDGHMDGHMD

The next morning, Cuddy, Wilson, Foreman and Chase were gathered in Cuddy's office early to finalize Cameron's birthday plan.

"Who's going to go to Staples and get supplies?" asked Cuddy.

"I will," Wilson volunteered. "I have some other errands to run anyway for my new apartment."

"Okay, covered." She confirmed. "I'll go by the party shop for balloons; I need to go there anyway for my cousin's party next week. So that leaves you two," she eyed Foreman and Chase. "You can go to the card shop on lunch today and get started gathering birthday wishes from the rest of the staff. I trust you can keep this as discreet as possible." And with that, the group went about their day.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

_House sat down next to her. "I used to play lacrosse," he said. "Remember that kid a while back? I went to one of his games. I miss being able to play." Cameron nodded. "I can understand that. I never played sports, but I used to be in marching band, in high school. When I got to college, I gave it up to study. Looking back, I should have stuck with it. I had a choice. You didn't." She looked at him. "I'm sorry, House. I mean if I tried to change you. I didn't mean to. I want you to be yourself, too."_

GHMDGHMDGHMD

"So," Chase explained to Sara, "we're going to put you on a very mild antipsychotic to get rid of your hallucinations in addition to your epilepsy medication. It can make you drowsy, so come back if you need us to lower the dosage. You're probably going to have to take these meds for the rest of you life, but they will make it a lot easier. Any questions?"

Sara shook her head. "Mom?" she asked.

"No, I think we'll be okay. Thank you, Doctor Chase. We'll be back if we have any concerns."

GHMDGHMDGHMD

That afternoon was spent catching up on paperwork and the usual boring office things that needed to be done. Cameron was at House's desk again, while Chase and Foreman sat in the conference room getting ready for her surprise.

Chase glanced over at Cameron. "How can we get her to go home early?" he asked Foreman.

"Hell if I know," he replied. "She's dedicated to this place. Maybe we should ask Cuddy…speak of the devil." He looked up as Cuddy came through the door.

"Okay, everything is ready in my office. I'll get her out of here, don't worry about that." The two men headed towards Cuddy's office as she went in to talk to Cameron.

"Hey," Cameron looked up from the mail she'd been reading. "We're almost caught up here, I don't know what we'll do for the rest of the day."

"Well I have a solution to that. Take the afternoon off. Go shopping, catch a movie, get your nails done. You deserve it. Besides, I know tomorrow's your birthday, in fact I have something for you." Cuddy handed her a package carefully wrapped in silver. "It's nothing special, but I thought you'd like it." Cameron opened it up to reveal a shiny new stethoscope, sitting atop a stack of stationery. Allison Cameron, M.D., it read. And underneath that: Head of Immunology.

"But…" Cameron protested, "I haven't even accepted yet, it's not for another few years!"

"Never mind that," said Cuddy. "You can save it away for the future. I had the stethoscope inscribed, and you can use that right now." The stethoscope was indeed inscribed, simply with Allison Cameron, M.D. "Consider the stationery an informal offer. And now, go home. That's pretty much an order. But I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow morning." She smiled.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

"Okay, everyone take a marker and a post-it pad and get going!" Cuddy said as she followed her own order. "House, that includes you. I didn't let you out of your room so you could get a cup of coffee."

"Do I really have to be a part of this insanity?" He asked.

"Yes," Wilson interrupted, "you do. We have a lot of space to cover."

"Let's at least make use of the record player," added Foreman. "We'll be here all night if we don't have some inspiration."

Chase went ahead and put on a Beatles record as they got started decorating the office.

GHMDGHMDGHMD

That night, Cameron took Cuddy's suggestion and went shopping. She ended up just picking up a few new pairs of jeans and a new bottle of jasmine oil. She treated herself to a bubble bath and, upon getting out, realized she hadn't called her brother to wish him a happy birthday.

"I'm so sorry Nick! What with House recovering and Cuddy putting me in charge, I've been so busy this week!" she said to her brother over the phone after she had gotten dressed for bed. It was only six o' clock out on the west coast, and she was lucky she hadn't missed her brother entirely, because she knew he had a show that night.

"No problem, sis, I know how it is. I've been pretty busy here too with the new band. We're dedicating tonight's show to you; it should be pretty packed. And I'm sending you the first copy of the new CD. Andy and Brian say hi and happy birthday," said her brother.

Cameron smiled. "That's cool that you guys are doing so well, I just wish I could get out there to see you in concert."

"Well, we're not playing the Key Arena yet. You still have time," Nick replied with a grin.

"Yeah. Well, listen, I still have to go in to work tomorrow, and I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone's planning some horrible prank, so I need to get some beauty rest," she said with a laugh. "So happy birthday again, I love you little bro. Later!"

"Yeah, later. Happy birthday, sis. And one more thing: go for it. What's the worst that could happen? Talk to you soon. Love you." He hung up.

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On the morning of her birthday, Cameron woke up refreshed. She set the coffee pot and took a long, hot shower, followed by pampering her skin with Swiss lotion and hernew jasmine oil. She decided to wear a blue blouse, her favorite color, and crisp gray slacks.

All of this pampering caused her to run a few minutes late, but she wasn't too worried about it. After all, the boys were late all the time. She deserved a little leeway, especially today. Nevertheless, she rushed to the elevator once she'd gotten to work, not noticing all the grins and snickers going on around her.

As she turned the corner towards Diagnostics, she looked up. And stopped.

The door and all of the 'walls' of their office were completely covered in black post-it notes, each one of them reading the number '30' in silver metallic marker. Cameron started to snicker, and as she moved toward the door, she realized that they'd covered both sides of the glass with 2&1/2 inch post-its. She stepped forward and pulled open the door. "Okay you guys, this is the most insane thing…" There was nobody there. Instead, inside the office, there were probably hundreds of black balloons, all bearing that same number, her age today, '30.'

Cameron made her way to the conference table and set her bag down. It looked like House's office had been filled with balloons as well, but before she could be sure, House himself suddenly came through the inter-office door with a small smile on his face. "This was _not _my idea."

"House!" Her eyes widened in surprise. "Cuddy let you out of bed?"

"Only because she knew I wouldn't pass up a chance to play a prank on you." He answered. "Everyone else is down in the cafeteria with the real party," he explained. "I…had something I wanted to give you. You don't have to open it now, in fact, maybe you should just wait until you get home tonight. Let's go downstairs," he said hurriedly, trying desperately to hide embarrassment as he handed her the small blue package.

Their fingers touched briefly as she took the gift from him. "House," she started, "you didn't have to get me a gift. I'm just happy to see that you're up and about. How's your leg?" He still had his cane, but Cameron had noticed that he seemed less reliant upon it than he had been before the shooting.

"Psht!" House rolled his blue eyes. "I'm fine. Let's just go down to your party, or else people will start to wonder what sort of naughty things we're doing up here. I see you're blushing now, let's go."

Cameron carefully placed what she already secretly considered her most treasured gift, whatever it may be, into the pocket of her blazer and followed House downstairs.

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The party started with lights flicked on and a big 'surprise' for formality's sake. Cameron marveled over the three-foot cards that had been signed by nearly everyone on staff at the hospital, including janitors and security guards, candy stripers and even their night valet. House secretly envied that; the fact that one person could just smile and make the whole world love her. Make him love her. He was hopeless.

"Okay," Cuddy took charge, climbing atop one of the tables. "Everybody quiet down! This is Cameron's day, and now it's time to blow out some candles." A massive sheet cake was wheeled out, with 'Happy 30th, Doctor Cameron!' scrawled across it in big blue script. The candles had been placed as far apart as possible, around the edges of the cake.

"Yeah, that was my idea, thank you very much," laughed Chase. "You have to make a wish, and you have to blow them all out." He smirked. "Good luck!"

Cameron surveyed the room for a minute, wondering how she'd gotten here, with birthday wishes from a few hundred people, just by being her awkward self. "Okay, here goes," as she looked over, Foreman winked at her, and he and Wilson helped her, blowing out all the candles.

_'I wish….'_ She thought.

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	6. Epilogue

**A/N: **Here it is, the epilogue. I'll be honest, I am a little disappointed, but like I said, the story writes itself. I'm so glad to be able to get this up for you all tonight. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own House…ultimately that's probably a good thing, tho it saddens me

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Sometime during the party, while Cameron opened some more gifts and everyone talked and laughed around him, House had made his way up to the roof. He thought about his dreams, and how he'd wished that certain parts of them had been real. He hadn't really realized that he knew so much about her, this woman who worked for him. He'd come to think of her as a friend, but there was still something in him that wanted to know what she looked like when she woke up in the morning, or what her favorite movie was. He laughed to himself, remembering what she'd said on their disastrous date.

Suddenly he heard the creak of the door to the stairwell.

"It's nice out today. Finally summer," Cameron said, almost in a whisper.

He didn't turn to face her. "Yeah. I could stay up here until sunset."

She walked towards him and leaned against the ledge, briefly looking down, then up. "I used to love sunsets as a kid. But it's not the same here. The sun sets in the west; the best sunsets are in the west."

"Did you open it yet?" He asked.

"No, do you want me to?" She looked into his eyes, boring a hole into his soul, but somehow he didn't mind anymore.

House paused, almost losing his wit for a moment. "If you don't, I'll have to reach into your coat pocket and open it for you. Wouldn't want to give you any ideas. Come on, open it."

Cameron pulled out the small package, turning it in her hands, and opened it. Inside a standard black velvet box was a teardrop-shaped fire agate attached to a thin platinum chain. The stone shimmered with blue, green, orange, and yellow. She was so in awe that she didn't say anything; she just let House take it from her and carefully place the pendant around her neck.

He brushed her hair out of the way and fastened the clasp, his hands trembling ever so slightly. Finally she looked at him, took his hand in both of her own, and simply said, "Thank you."

House looked down and said, "I dreamed of you in the sunset. Always in the sunset, and in a blue shirt like the one you're wearing."

"Why are you telling me this? Why now, House?" She asked.

"Because, Cameron," he took her hands in both of his own. "I want meaning."

She stood up on her toes and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and then House put his arm around this girl, this woman, that he had come to love.

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**A/N: **Here are some notes I'd like to share: I've been reading fanfic for a while now, and the season finale was the last straw, I had to start writing, thus I used House's line from the episode. _Alice in Wonderland Syndrome_ is real(thank you Wikipedia), although since I do not have a medical degree, I can't verify that the way I used it is medically correct; I thought it fit my theme. Once again, all back story stuff on Cameron has been pulled directly out of my own life. Make of it what you will.

I'd like to thank all of my reviewers as of right now: _**househomie, Kiana3, Mayuko-Chan, gatermage, ninavs, Daisyz, Verity Kindle, gerfan, Grissbabe, HouseLuvr, fudgesuks, House Calls, KayleighBough, SimpleNClean92, enots, theshowpopper, bly, **and the anonymous person who likes my tone with House and Cameron. _This is my first attempt at writing anything at all in a long time, and it means a lot to me that you guys have enjoyed my story. I tried to be very careful with staying in character, even though somehow I whipped this thing out in three days. I can't promise the next story will be amazing or anything, but I will definitely be writing more. Thank You LOTS! **- Luveniar**


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